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Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind
As God’s written Word to us, the Bible is the single most powerful agent for transforming our lives. But too often Bible reading becomes routine.
Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind will equip you to accurately understand and respond to God’s Word in ways that will develop deep intimacy with Christ.
Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind will equip you to accurately understand and respond to God’s Word in ways that will develop deep intimacy with Christ.
238 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
13 people are currently reading
167 people want to read
About the author
Tremper Longman III
198 books128 followersTremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is the Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Before coming to Westmont, he taught at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia for eighteen years. He has authored or coauthored numerous books, including An Introduction to the Old Testament, How to Read Proverbs, and commentaries on Daniel, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Jeremiah and Lamentations, and Song of Songs.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 4, 2009
The best part of Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind is found in the last chapter, consisting of a whole page and a half. There, Longman summarizes the entire thrust of his advise in five simple questions:
1. What does this passage of the Bible teach me about God and my relationship with Him?
2. What does this passage tell me about how God has acted in the past?
3. How does this passage change the way I think about the world and how does it impact the way I live my life?
4. How has God chosen to communicate these truths to me through the Scriptures?
5. How does this passage present Christ?
If the book really revolved around those questions, and sufficiently gave instruction in answering them, it would be a good book. However, it does not. Longman claims the all of Scripture points to Jesus, but does little to help the reader get there on his own. And even when he does, it seems more like an appendix - an add on - rather than the central purpose of the text.
At the end of the day, Longman's book was too basic for a serious student of the Bible, and insufficiently gospel-driven for a beginner.
1. What does this passage of the Bible teach me about God and my relationship with Him?
2. What does this passage tell me about how God has acted in the past?
3. How does this passage change the way I think about the world and how does it impact the way I live my life?
4. How has God chosen to communicate these truths to me through the Scriptures?
5. How does this passage present Christ?
If the book really revolved around those questions, and sufficiently gave instruction in answering them, it would be a good book. However, it does not. Longman claims the all of Scripture points to Jesus, but does little to help the reader get there on his own. And even when he does, it seems more like an appendix - an add on - rather than the central purpose of the text.
At the end of the day, Longman's book was too basic for a serious student of the Bible, and insufficiently gospel-driven for a beginner.
November 19, 2024
A concise overview of how to optimize the reading of the Bible. Some parts were quite illuminating while others were more pedestrian.
August 16, 2015
I think many Christians recognize the importance of reading the Bible, but many times, they have a hard time making heads or tails of what the Bible is all about. There are a number of great resources that help people to navigate like How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, Dig Deeper by Nigel Benyon and Andrew Sach, or 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible by Robert Plummer and Benjamin Merkle. Reading the Bible with Heart and Mind (1997) by Tremper Longman III is another great addition to the genre.
Longman divided the book into four parts--the Bible's transforming power, the receptive heart, the understanding mind, and the literary cornucopia. One of the best things about this book is that Longman addresses the whole perhaps, just as the Bible does. He reminds the reader that Scripture is not to be read just in the abstract, but in the real ruddiness of life.
Chapter 7 is an important chapter. Longman presented the reader with several application principles:
Look for the author's intended meaning.
Read the passage in context.
Identify the genre of the passage.
Consider the historical and cultural background of the Bible.
Pay attention to the grammar and structure within the passage.
Interpret experience in the light of Scripture, not vice versa.
Always seek the full counsel of Scripture.
The final section, comprising the majority of the book, explores the major genres of the Bible: History, Law, Poetry, Wisdom, The Prophets, The Gospels, The Epistles, and Apocalypse. Understanding the difference between each of these literary types will go a long way to making sense of what the Bible means.
Having read each of the books above, I think this is the one I am most likely to recommend now. It is accessible and wise.
Longman divided the book into four parts--the Bible's transforming power, the receptive heart, the understanding mind, and the literary cornucopia. One of the best things about this book is that Longman addresses the whole perhaps, just as the Bible does. He reminds the reader that Scripture is not to be read just in the abstract, but in the real ruddiness of life.
Chapter 7 is an important chapter. Longman presented the reader with several application principles:
Look for the author's intended meaning.
Read the passage in context.
Identify the genre of the passage.
Consider the historical and cultural background of the Bible.
Pay attention to the grammar and structure within the passage.
Interpret experience in the light of Scripture, not vice versa.
Always seek the full counsel of Scripture.
The final section, comprising the majority of the book, explores the major genres of the Bible: History, Law, Poetry, Wisdom, The Prophets, The Gospels, The Epistles, and Apocalypse. Understanding the difference between each of these literary types will go a long way to making sense of what the Bible means.
Having read each of the books above, I think this is the one I am most likely to recommend now. It is accessible and wise.
June 29, 2008
I found that reading this book has made the Bible, especially the OT, seem less daunting and more approachable. It explains Scripture genres (history, law, poetry, wisdom, prophets, gospels, epistles, apocalypse), helping me understand the books of the Bible in context and as a whole.
October 20, 2008
If you are new to reading the bible and want a BASIC over view of biblical genres then this book is fine. If you have ANY background in biblical studies of any kind. Look somewhere else.
December 29, 2010
Doesn't matter how long you have been reading the bible this is a great book to give you new insights!
January 5, 2011
A great first step into the world of Biblical interpretation. Focusing on genre, this well written book will give you some great tools to use during your own Bible exploration.
November 9, 2015
A helpful primer in the specifics of genre and the importance of how we approach reading the Bible from a Christocentric prospective.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews